Paul Gill

MY STORY

Dedicating my life to health and fitness wasn't a hard decision to make. But it was a long road getting there.

As a teenager, I had two passions: working out and cars. So I decided to become an engineer. I thought I would spend my life working in the automotive industry, designing fast cars and luxury sedans. Turns out, I picked the wrong passion...at least for a few years!

After graduating from Ryerson University in Toronto 1999 with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, I went to work in Michigan for one of the big three auto-makers. But by 2001, the economy would nose-dive and I was out of a job. I had to find another job, and quickly did, moving to another international corporation for a few years in Illinois.

A year later, a bit homesick, I decided to return to Canada and the search for yet another new job began. I continued to work as an automotive engineer first in Burlington, Ontario and later in Vaughn, Ontario. Like many of you, I thought early in my career that I was on my way to financial independence. But unfortunately, the automotive market would take another downward turn in 2006, and again in 2009. Business was evaporating, and these years of fearing job loss took their toll on my body. It broke down. And I got fat.

My symptoms may sound like the ones you have or have seen in your friends and family. I suffered constant physical fatigue and needed longer periods of rest to recover for the next day of work. I had knee pain. I felt really depressed and had no energy to do anything but sleep and eat. I had no energy to hangout with friends or family - all I wanted to do was to be alone. I went to several doctors to figure out what the problem was but every time the results were the same: my tests were always normal. Whatever was making me feel so lousy wasn't popping up in the traditional tests (other than the scale of course.)

What the hell was happening? This wasn't me! I was a healthy kid. You see, I am originally from beautiful British Columbia - Victoria to be precise. As a kid, I had a passion for sports and athletics: I played soccer, volleyball and rugby competitively. I ran track. And I had a passion for resistance training. At 15, I was in Gold's Gym working with free weights to enhance my sports performance and balance out my body's aesthetics.

Flash forward 20 years and I was overweight, out of shape, tired, depressed and hungry...hungry all the time. I worked in an industry that would take off and crash every few years. I was always worried about getting laid-off. And now, I was fat. Things needed to change...fast.

I didn't start off slowly: once I made the decision to change, everything in my life became focused on it. I read countless books on nutrition, supplements, spirituality, and body building. I got back into the gym, started taking diet and fitness certification classes, and soon the transformation was complete. I was back! My knee pain never went away - but it got better. I slept better and at regular intervals. I lost more than 50 lbs. I had so much energy, now my friends couldn't keep up. It was not a doctor who cured me, it was a healthy diet and exercise. Chronic physical fatigue, high cortisol levels, hormonal imbalance, depression, insomnia, anxiety...all were cured with the lift of a dumbbell and the consumption of nutritious, natural food.

But the biggest change from my transformation wasn't my physique: it was my mental health. I began to realize how much I enjoyed health and fitness. I realized how tired I was of working in an up-and-down industry. It was time for a new career - a career of helping people. Sure, it was a tough decision. But it was the right one. And I'm the happiest now that I have ever been in my life. Gone are the days of my alter ego I affectionately call, "corporate guy." He woke up every morning at 4:45 a.m. hating life. Now, I'm the guy who gets up at 4:45 to hit the gym or train a client.

I empathize with all corporate types and the lives they lead. I also understand what it's like to have severe health challenges. I relate and empathize with all of you. It really shakes me to my core because I know how it feels to be physically challenged, to feel that you're sleep-walking through life.

I'm not a religious guy, but I believe things happen for a reason. I felt like after experiencing being severely overweight, I could better empathize with people who suffer physically, mentally, or emotionally - whatever the source. Given today's fast-paced high stress world, it gives me great pleasure to help people not only cope with their lives, but also enhances their well-being with health and fitness.

Over the past few years, it has been a privilege to help clients with their health challenges. And I can't wait to help you too.